Album page

ABSTRACT

An album page for displaying articles, such as photographs, includes an intermediate, preferably opaque, sheet and a pair of outer sheets made from a transparent plastic material. Die cuts are provided in the immediate sheet at a plurality of locations, and the two outer sheets are adhered to one another at the locations defined by the die cuts. The preferred album page does not use adhesives to bond either outer sheet to the intermediate sheet, and the die cut/seal areas are arranged to permit display of rectangular objects in either horizontal or vertical positions. The invention features an arrangement, which insures that horizontally displayed objects are supported on both sides of the bottom edge thereof to enhance the overall aesthetics of the filled page.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS, IF ANY

None

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to album pages useful for thedisplay of planar objects, and more particular, in the illustratedembodiments, to the display of photographs. In its most preferredembodiment, the present invention relates to an album page which may beused to display similarly sized objects, e.g. photographs, in either avertical or a horizontal position, and when displayed horizontally, thepage supports the photograph on both sides of its bottom edge to preventskewing of the photograph.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A wide variety of pages or sheets used to support and display planarobjects are known in the art. Such objects may be stamps, letters, artworks, photographs, recipes or any of a wide variety of other objects.The size of the objects can also vary widely, so that the number ofobjects to be displayed per page or sheet can range from a single objectto a large number of objects. Moreover, certain prior art album pages ordisplay sheets have been designed for the display of different sizeobjects on the same sheet and for various orientations thereof, and insome cases the display of a plurality of similarly sized objects indifferent orientations. Several examples of prior art pages and sheetswill be described to provide the reader with additional background.

A stamp display page is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,649 issuedNov. 2, 1982, to Diamond, et al. for “Page Construction for a StampAlbum”. It shows on its cover sheet a prior art page displaying threesmaller stamps and one larger stamp and an alternative page showingspaces for four stamps. Cut-outs and plastic strips are used in the pageconstruction.

Another album page product is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,421,503 issuedJun. 3, 1947 to Hermon for “Visible Card, Photograph, and other FilingSheets.” Here a central opaque sheet is bounded on both sides bytransparent sheets, which are cemented along the edges and in parallel,horizontal lines. Slits are provided to form pockets and channels areimpressed into the sheets. The transparent material, slits and channelscreate pockets for receiving photographs and the slits on one side ofthe opaque sheet are aligned with the channels on the opposite side.

A display page for photographs, which includes space for memorandumdescriptions, is shown in Beese French Patent No. 332,929 issued in1903. Openings and slots are provided for display of pictures on eitherside of the sheet, and where two or more photographs are potentiallyable to contact one another in an album, an intermediate flyleaf isincluded. This patent, and a non-official translation thereof, areprovided with the present application.

Another patent showing a page having room for the display of one or morephotographs and accompanying. data is shown in British PatentSpecification No. 11,790 issued in 1894, a portion of whichspecification is supplied with this application. Such portion wasobtained from the U.S. Patent Office prosecution history of the Ruebenspatent discussed later herein.

A British Provisional Specification No. 29,275 dated in 1897, obtainedfrom the same source described in the preceding paragraph, shows the useof a plurality of transparent strips, partially attached to an albumpage or sheet, to cover the objects to be displayed and to protect them.

A German Patent 534,428 issued in 1930, again obtained from the samesource as the preceding foreign patents, shows a page having a firstarea for the display of a photograph and a second area in whichdescriptive matter may be provided.

Additional disclosures can be found in more recent U.S. patents. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,393 issued Aug. 3, 1971 to Lithgow, et al.and entitled “Device for the Housing and Storage of Microfilm” containsa rather specific disclosure of the use of two clear sheets, spot welded(or adhered) at spaced apart locations about the perimeter of the twosuperimposed sheets and at spaced apart internal locations, so that allof the welded spots are located in both a horizontal row and a verticalrow. In use of the device, the microfilm strips can be insertedhorizontally or vertically for display. One sheet may be larger than theother to provide an area for attaching the display to a file, or onesheet may be double the size of the other to fold thereover, creating afile.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,651,591 issued Mar. 28, 1972 to Woodyard for “PhotoAlbum Page” describes a page which is opaque and which includes a seriesof clear strips adhered thereto along their bottom edges, their inneredges and at a plurality of locations along their top edges. Photographsmay be inserted into the open ends of the resulting sleeves or betweenspaces in the top edges of the strips.

Yet a further prior art example is the “Card Negative Holder and Methodof Manufacture” shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,228 issued Sep. 30, 1983 toMuscoplat. In this device, which can be a book page, pressure-sensitivestock is used to hold negatives on a flat member, slits being providedfor the insertion of negatives or the like. The flat member has a windowthrough with the negative may be viewed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,762, issued Jan. 13, 1981 to Holson and entitled“Heat Sealed Photo Album Page and Method of Making Same”, and assignedto the assignee of the present invention, uses a fibrous, centrallydisposed sheet and a pair of overlying clear synthetic resinous sheets.Pockets are formed by ultrasonic sealing of the clear sheets togetherthrough the fibrous sheet which disintegrates under the generated heatof sealing. Pockets are formed during a continuous sealing operation atthe same time the page is laminated. The pockets are formed by sealingin broken lines, whereby the fibrous sheet retains structural integrityin some areas.

Another patent owned by the assignee of the present invention was issuedon Apr. 12, 1994 to Hoffmeister. This U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,445 entitled“Album Page for Bi-Directional Insertion and Centering of RectangularImages” includes a backing sheet and at least one pocket comprising atransparent sheet. The pocket is defined by attaching the backing sheetand the transparent sheet along the bottom and two opposed side edgesand including two bracket seals, which extend upwardly from the bottomedge to retain an image in a fixed and centered position. The bracketsare selected in height to permit either the vertical or horizontaldisplay of similarly sized photographs which, in either case, areinserted from the top.

Two further prior art systems include the Wihlke U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,973issued May 15, 1984 for “Album Leaf with Pockets for Insertion ofPhotographic Paper Prints and Similar Articles” and Ruebens U.S. Pat.No. 4,965,948 issued Oct. 30, 1990 for “Bi-Directional Album with MemoArea”. In the former, a transparent sheet is welded to an opaque sheetalong the edges and at various other horizontal and vertical locationsto form pockets adapted to receive photographs. In one or more of thepockets, a single weld line extends from an edge by an amount whichlimits the orientation of a photograph to either a standing verticalorientation or a horizontally oriented position.

The Ruebens patent takes a somewhat different approach in providing arectangular, opaque sheet which is bounded on both sides withtransparent sheets narrower than the opaque sheet. The transparentsheets are each glued around the top, bottom and one side edge,corresponding to the outer vertical edge of the opaque sheet. Thisleaves the inner edge of each transparent sheet open along its entirelength for the insertion of photographs. The patent also discloses theuse of at least two, spaced-apart attachment lines extending from theouter, glued edge toward the inner non-attached edge, the distance beingselected to permit horizontal insertion of pictures (i.e., between anupper or lower glue edge and one of the attachment lines or between apair of the attachment lines) or the vertical insertion of one or morepictures (depending on the height of the page and the picture size) insuch a manner that they lie entirely between the innermost ends of theattachment lines and the unattached edge of the transparent sheet.

Several drawbacks still exist with these various prior art album pages,some having to do with manufacturing, and some having to do with thefinished article itself. One improvement over a number of such prior artsystems has been practiced by the assignee of the present invention,namely the use of film-to-film sealing rather than the use of glue toadhere transparent sheets to the substrates. This has been accomplishedby cutting out (for example using a die cutter) certain portions of thesubstrate and heat or sonic welding two transparent layers to oneanother at the location of the cut-outs. Not only is there a savings inadhesive purchases, the resulting film-to-film bond is stronger than thebond typically created between a film layer and a substrate using aliquid adhesive. The present assignees' prior device also permitted theuse of a creased, cylindrical sleeve of clear plastic provided over theopaque sheet, eliminating high speed manufacturing problems with sheetalignment. Further, in a recent version of such sheet, horizontal,elongate cut-outs have been provided to permit the insertion ofphotographs along the left edge of a page in either horizontal orvertical alignments. Moreover, a small, cut-out at the center of thesheet provides additional stability when two photographs are insertedfor display in a vertical orientation.

The elimination of the drawbacks of the prior art in an inexpensive,easy-to-assemble and aesthetically pleasing album page would represent asignificant advance in this crowded and competitive field.

SUMMARY AND FEATURES OF THE INVENTION

A primary feature of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive,easy-to-manufacture and aesthetically pleasing album page whichovercomes the above-noted disadvantages of prior album systems.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide an album pagewherein all attachments of component parts are made using the same typeof manufacturing operation, which preferably is heat or ultrasonicwelding.

A different feature of the present invention is to provide an album pagein which all components are securely attached together and which avoidsthe use of glue between clear plastic film layers and opaque substratesheets.

A different feature of the present invention is to provide thecapability, on a single page, of displaying a wide variety ofphotographs of different sizes in a variety of orientations, and whendisplaying objects horizontally on the sheet to adequately support bothbottom corners of the object to maintain an aesthetically pleasingappearance and prevent skewing of the photograph or other displayedobject, and when displaying photograph vertically to provide bottomsupport for each such photograph.

A still further feature of the invention is to provide top or sideloading capabilities and a memo area readily receptive to most types ofwriting implements.

How these and other features of the present invention are accomplishedis described in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the drawings.Generally, however, they are accomplished in an album page constructionincluding an opaque center sheet, which sheet may include memo areas,holes for inserting the page in an album and the like. Transparentmaterial, preferably made from a thermoplastic resin, narrower than thepage, is placed over the outer portions of the respective sides of thepage. The center sheet includes a plurality of cut-out areas, so thatthe front sheet of transparent material is in proximity with its rearcounterpart at the cut-out areas. A seal is provided at each cut-outarea to provide a film-to-film bond, e.g., by heat welding or sonicwelding. Alternatively, if a thermoplastic material is also used for thecenter sheet, the cut-outs need not be made, and a three-layer heat weldcan be made to accomplish the desired results. The sleeve is preferablynot attached to the center sheet at any areas, except those where theheat or sonic welds are made, to facilitate the placement of objects,such as photographs, in a variety of orientations, and at least twowelds are made at locations remote from the outer edges of the centersheet, so that support is provided for the two bottom corners of anobject to be displayed in a horizontal orientation to prevent skewingthereof. In addition, thumbnail die cuts can be provided in the centersheet to form tabs to assist in supporting photographs displayedvertically. Other ways in which the objects of the present invention areaccomplished will be described in the following specification or willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art after they have read thisspecification. Such other ways are deemed to fall within the scope ofthe present invention if they fall within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the FIGURES, like reference numerals are used for like components and

FIG. 1 is a front view of an album page according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention and illustrating several importantfeatures thereof;

FIG. 1A is a schematic representation of the three layers of a typicalpage such as the one shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 1B is a schematic representation of a section of the page shown inFIG. 1, and illustrating the welding of two plastic sheets to oneanother in an area where no center sheet material exists;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the page shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating thehorizontal placement of three, like-sized photographs;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the page shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating thevertical placement of two, like-sized photographs;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the page shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating thehorizontal placement of one photograph and the vertical placement ofanother like-sized photograph; and

FIG. 5 is a front view of the page shown in FIG. 1 illustrating thevertical placement of a single photograph having a length equal to twicethat of the photograph shown in the other FIGURES.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED AND ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS OF THEINVENTION

Before proceeding to a detailed description of the invention and adescription of the FIGURES, several general comments can be made aboutthe applicability and the scope of the invention.

First, while photographs are used to illustrate the type of objectswhich can be displayed using the album page of the invention, a varietyof other planar objects could be substituted, such as paper sheets,cards, announcements, art work, memo slips, and the like.

Second, while an opaque fibrous (e.g. paper) center sheet is shown inthe illustrations, the sheet may be of any material of any color, ormay, for that matter, be clear. Likewise, the memo lines and contrastingbackground beneath the transparent sheets can be variously designed oreliminated altogether, depending on the aesthetic appearance determinedfor the particular end use by the page designer.

Third, ultrasonic welding is mentioned as the preferred technique toform film-to-film seals at various locations on the page, but heatwelding using other well known film welding techniques would work in thepresent invention.

Fourth, die cuts or other openings are shown in the illustratedembodiment to allow high strength, film-to-film bonds when compared tofilm to paper adhesive bonds. However, two variations are deemed to fallwithin the scope of this invention, a first one of which is the use ofadhesive for some, but not all of the bonds. The other alternative isthe use of a film center sheet which itself can be heat or sonicallywelded to the transparent components to form tough film-to-film bonds,such as the center film sheets illustrated in the aforementioned Holson'762 patent. Such a film center sheet, other than its composition, canhave all of the characteristics described above in the paragraphdescribing options for a center, fibrous sheet.

Fifth, certain dimensions are given in the drawings to illustratevarious capabilities of the page of the present invention. However,these dimensions are exemplary only and the size of the pages themselvesand the location and number of seals can be variously embodied. Forexample, instead of configuring the pages for use with 4×6 or 4×12photographs, the page may be set up to accommodate 4×7 photographs ormay be set up to hold larger or considerably smaller objects.

Finally, while the invention is primarily directed and is entitled“Album Page”, the pages of the present invention need not contain anyspecific structure for inserting the pages in a book (such as holes orspiral binding openings), and the pages may be configured to haveopenings into the space between the transparent film and center sheetfrom both the right and left sides. This arrangement would be suitable,for example, if the page were to be used for evidence photographs andwhere the entire page might be inserted as a self-contained holder in alarger file.

Proceeding now to the description of FIG. 1, an album page 10 accordingto the most preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. Itincludes a center opaque sheet 12, which may be paper, such as a whitepaper having a weight typical of that used in the photo album art,. e.g.paper having a weight of about between 10 pounds to 50 pounds per 1,000square feet. Holes 14 are provided adjacent the left side of sheet 12for inserting the album page into a ring binder or the like. In theillustrated embodiment, a plurality of memo lines 16 are printed alongthe left side of sheet 12 from the top to the bottom and a contrastingpattern, illustrated in the area designated 18 is printed over theremainder of sheet 12 and to the right of the memo lines 16. Theparticular colors, contrast and pattern may be variously embodied aspreviously indicated.

Sheet 12 also includes a plurality of cut-out portions which will beidentified beginning with the cut-out portion at the upper right handcorner of the sheet 12 as illustrated. At that corner, an L-shapedcut-out 20 is provided and extends approximately 1″ across the top ofsheet 12 and approximately ½″ down the right side. A similar, L-shapedcut-out 22 is provided at the bottom right corner. A series of cut-outswhich are linear, and horizontal of approximately 1″ in length, areprovided along the left margin of the patterned area 18 including afirst such cut-out 24 at the bottom of the page, a second cut-out 26approximately ⅓ of the way to the top, a second intermediate cut-outportion 28 approximately ⅔ of the way to the top, and a cut-out 30 atthe top of sheet 12. A small cut-out, linear and approximately ½″ inlength, shown at reference numeral 35, is located approximately half waybetween cut-outs 22 and 24.

Two T-shaped cut-outs are provided along the right edge of sheet 12.These cut-outs include a base for the T of about 1 ½″ in length, whilethe top of the T is about 1″ in length. The tops of the T's lie alongthe right edge of sheet 12. The first of such T-shaped cut-outs 32 islocated so that its base is aligned with cut-out 28 but spaced aparttherefrom, while the second T-shaped cut-out 34 is arranged so that itsbase is co-linear and aligned with cut-out 26, but spaced aparttherefrom.

Finally, a pair of adjacent semi-circular cuts are provided near thecenter of sheet 12 to form a pair of tabs 33, the purpose of which willbe explained later.

Sheet 12, in the most preferred embodiment is covered on its front andback by transparent outer sheets 36 and 38. Transparent sheet 36 coversthe patterned portion 18 of the front of sheet 12, while transparentsheet 38 covers the patterned portion on the rear side. The sheets 36and 38 have a length identical to that of sheet 12 and a widthsufficient to extend from the right edge of sheet 12 to the left marginof the patterned area 18 and hence the left margin of cut-outs 24, 26,28 and 30. FIG. 1A schematically illustrates the three layers ofmaterial which are used to comprise album page 12 in an area where allthree components exist. If such a sectional view were taken through anyarea represented by one of the enumerated cut-outs, the center sheet 12would not be present, thereby permitting the sheets 36 and 38 todirectly confront one another. This situation is illustratedschematically in FIG. 1B.

When assembled, sheets 36 and 38 are heat welded or ultrasonicallysealed by heat to each other at each of the enumerated cut-outs. Thesonic welding may be by spot welding, as is known is the ultrasonicwelding art.

Preferred materials for sheets 36 and 38 are those thermoplasticmaterials which can be heated and welded to one other includingpolyesters, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonates or any otherheat weldable plastic sheet material known for use in the photo albumsheet art. Ultrasonic stitching of such plastic sheets is discussed inseveral of the prior art references described above.

FIG. 2 illustrates the page 10 shown in FIG. 1, together with three 4×6objects, which for purposes of this description, are photographs A, Band C. In this illustration, each of the photographs is mountedhorizontally, i.e. with its long direction parallel to the top andbottom of sheet 12. Photograph A is inserted between seal areas 28 and30, and photograph A is confined by the angled seals formed at corner 20and at cut-out 32. Photographs B and C are similarly inserted from theleft side of sheet 36 and are supported by at least two, spaced-apartseal areas. This will ensure a pleasing, aesthetic presentation of thephotographs and prevent skewing of the photographs from the illustratedposition.

FIG. 3 shows the vertical display of two photographs, A and B, using thesheet 10 of the present invention, each being inserted beneath sheet 36between the cut-outs 30 and 20 and each being spaced from the side edgesof sheet 36 by the cut-outs 28-32 and 26-34. The bottom of photograph Bis supported by the cut-out. and seal area at 35 and the bottom ofphotograph A is supported by one of the tabs 33. The other tab 33 couldbe used for support of a vertically arranged photograph on the reverseside of album sheet 10.

Another arrangement is shown in FIG. 4 where photograph A is displayedin a horizontal position in an identical manner as shown in FIG. 2,while photograph B is displayed vertically in the same manner asillustrated in FIG. 3. Note that photograph A is prevented from skewingby the cut-out and seal areas 28 and 32, while photograph B ismaintained in its desired position by cut-out and seal areas 26, 34 and35.

A final arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 5 where one large photographD, having dimensions of 4″×12″, is inserted from the top of sheet 10between cut-out and seal areas 30 and 20 and is supported between thecut-out and seal areas 26, 28, 32, 34 and bottom seal area 35. Suchphotographs are becoming more popular with the development and sale ofpanoramic camera systems.

As will be readily apparent, the opposite side of the page 10 maysupport photographs A, B, C or D in the same variety of arrangements ashas been illustrated in FIGS. 2-5 or such photographs may be differentlyarranged from the array on the front of a page 10. Moreover, it bearsrepeating here that the cut-outs referred to in the FIGURES can beeliminated by using plastic center sheets and forming three layer sealareas at the same locations as described for the cut-out areas shown. Sowhile the present invention has been illustrated with reference tocertain embodiments, it is not to be limited thereto, but is to belimited solely by the scope of the claims which follow.

1-32. (canceled)
 33. A page for displaying planar objects comprising: arectangular center sheet having a top, a bottom, a front, a back, andtwo sides; transparent, thermoplastic film on the front and the back ofthe center sheet and immediately adjacent to the top, bottom, and afirst side of the center sheet; a plurality of pairs of spaced-apart,film-to-film seals joining the film through cutout openings in thecenter sheet at locations selected for supporting planar objects betweenthe film on the front of the center sheet and the center sheet, andbetween the film on the back of the center sheet and the center sheetwherein a first of the plurality of pairs includes at least one cut-outopenings being T-shaped and having a top of the T and a base of the T,the top of the T lying along the first side of the center sheet and thebase of the T extending toward the other side of the center sheet, and aseparate cut-out opening being spaced apart from, but linearly arranged,with respect to the base of the T-shaped opening, film-to-film sealsformed in both the separate opening and in the base of the T-shapedopening to support a bottom edge of a planar object to be displayed. 34.The page of claim 33, wherein the center sheet is a paper sheet.
 35. Thepage of claim 33, further including a second of the plurality of pairsof spaced-apart film-to-film seals arranged in a line parallel to thelinearly arranged first pair of film-to-film seals formed in theseparate opening and in the base of the T-shaped opening.
 36. The pageof claim 35, wherein the second of the plurality of pairs includes aT-shaped opening and a separate cut-out opening, wherein the twoT-shaped openings are formed in the center sheet and the correspondingseparate cut-out openings are provided in the center sheet and arespaced-apart from, but are linearly arranged with respect to, the basesof the two T-shaped openings, film-to-film seals formed in the separateopenings and in the two bases of the two T-shaped openings to providetwo parallel supports for the bottom edges of two planar objects to bedisplayed.
 37. The page of claim 33, wherein at least two spaced-apartcut-out openings are provided at the top and at the bottom of the centersheet, and film-to-film seals are formed at each of the top and bottomcut-out openings.
 38. The page of claim 33, including at least one cutin the center sheet to provide support for an edge of a planar object tobe displayed.
 39. The page of claim 33, further including a rectangularplanar object which has a width greater than the distance between aspaced-apart bottom edge supporting film-to-film seals.
 40. A page fordisplaying planar objects comprising: a rectangular center sheet havinga top, a bottom, a front, a back, a first side, and a second side; atleast two holes adjacent the second side arranged for holding the pagein an album transparent, thermoplastic film on the front and the back ofthe center sheet and immediately adjacent the top, bottom, and the firstside of the center sheet; a memo area located between the first andsecond sides of the center sheet; the center sheet including a portionbeneath the thermoplastic film having a contrasting underlying patternto the memo area; and a plurality of pairs of spaced-apart, film-to-filmseals joining the film through cut-out openings in the center sheet atlocations selected for supporting planar objects between the film on thefront of the center sheet and the center sheet, and between the film onthe back of the center sheet and the center sheet.
 41. The page of claim40, wherein the portion of center sheet beneath the thermoplastic filmis darker in visual appearance than the memo area.
 42. The page of claim41, wherein the memo area is substantially white and includes lines. 43.The page of claim 40, wherein the center sheet is a paper sheet.
 44. Thepage of claim 40, wherein at least two spaced-apart, cut-out openingsare provided at the top and at the bottom of the center sheet, andfilm-to-film seals are formed at each of the top and bottom cut-outopenings.
 45. A page for displaying planar objects comprising: a centersheet having a front and a back; transparent film on a portion of thefront and the back of the center sheet; memo areas located on each ofthe front and the back of the center sheet; the center sheet including aportion beneath the thermoplastic film having a contrasting underlyingpattern to the memo area; and a plurality of pairs of spaced-apart,film-to-film seals joining the film through cut-out openings in thecenter sheet at locations selected for supporting planar objects betweenthe film on the front of the center sheet and the center sheet, andbetween the film on the back of the center sheet and the center sheet.46. The page of claim 45, wherein the center sheet beneath thethermoplastic film is darker in visual appearance than the memo area.47. The page of claim 46, wherein the memo area is substantially whiteand includes lines.
 48. The page of claim 45, wherein the center sheetis a paper sheet.
 49. The page of claim 45, including at least one cutin the center sheet to provide support for an edge of a planar object tobe displayed.
 50. The page of claim 49, wherein the cut creates a tab inthe center sheet.